SHILLONG: The State Government is yet to examine whether the quantified coal assessed by the NGT committee is still remaining in the coal mining sites and depots as there is a fear that they were partially washed away in the flash floods or covered by landslides.
A senior government official said that it is the duty of the mining and geology department to examine the status of the extracted coal in the mines and in depots as the Government is yet to receive any report on whether the coal was washed away in flood.
After the April 17 interim order of NGT to stop coal mining activities, there was hardly any mining activities carried out in the coal belt areas of the state and the coal was left unattended in quarries, mining sites and depots.
There was delay on transportation of extracted coal as the RP Marak committee constituted by NGT did not do its entrusted job.
Later, a new committee headed by Additional Chief Secretary K S Kropha had carried out the task of assessing the coal.
However, the guidelines fixed by the committee and subsequently notified by the mining and geology department was not acceptable to various coal mining bodies as only 14 days time was given to pay royalty and transport extracted coal.
The issue of transportation of coal among others is likely to come up during the next hearing of the NGT on October 7 and 8 here which will enable the coal miners and owners to transport the extracted coal in a stipulated time.
